Unique
“Dirk?” Ting Wu set down the riffle she was holding. The sun was shining in the country side they had decided to use as a spot to practice without the threat of injury to anyone from Ting Wu’s less then exemplary skill. One side of her face a bruise was happily healing its self into oblivion and had dulled to a sickly yellow, tinged here and there with purple stains. Her aim and skill markedly improved since she had first begun her lessons. “Do you ever feel, different?” It was the first thing she had said in a couple of hours since the lesson began that didn’t have something to do with technique or ammunition or the like. Colonel Gentleman lowered his hand, which was about to toss another glass targeting ball into the air, and stifled a bit of friendly laughter. "Different my lady? I suspect you must mean something other than the obvious, in as much as I feel very much different all the time, given my, er, natural state if you will." “My apologies for the clumsy wording, perhaps my phrasing is off. I will attempt to clarify.” Ting Wu, walked over to the table that had been set up under an open air tent and took up her cup, draping the rifle in the other arm. “When you do not reveal your self as drake, you are every bit the English gentleman. I do not have such chameleon like abilities that I can be anything other then Chinese. Perhaps I wonder if you feel a sense of belonging in this society.” She sipped delicately from the china. Colonel Gentleman adjusted his clothing rather fussily, and followed Ting Wu into the tent. "I believe I know to what you are alluding... However I don't know if the answer is exactly what you are expecting. It's rather ironic I suppose that I actually feel more comfortable in the form you see here, as an Englishman rather than in my other body or indeed even as the American which in reality I am." The Colonel paused to drink some of the tea. "Someone once observed 'None of us are at all the person we present to others.' Everyone hides those things we perceive as our flaws, presenting to the world that self which we believe the *world* wishes to see rather than that which is your true self. But I do go on..." “You make a valid point, but it is a digression from the current topic at hand.” She set the rifle in a nearby stand and took a seat in one of the wooden lounge chairs. “I do not feel at fault because I am Chinese, nor do I see it as a flaw.” She smiled into her cup. “But I do find my self at odds with this English culture. For heaven sakes, I get odd looks from the servants because I insist they take their shoes off in my home. But it all makes perfect sense to me. But even if I did prescribe to more English customs, I would still find myself stared at.” She set her cup down with out a clink and refilled it from the teapot. “I can not escape my features.” Colonel Gentleman let loose with a small fit of uproarious laughter. After a moment he caught himself. "I beg your pardon, but the image in my mind of a stiff-upper-lip Briton's reaction when asked to remove his shoes struck me just right.” He sipped some tea. "I see what you mean. The Brits are awfully keen on pomp and protocol and not terribly tolerant of others with a dissimilar view. I mean look at the way they treat their own kind in the lower classes! Just as soon spit on them as help. Have you read any of the late Charles Dickens' works? Great insight into the British condition there." The Colonel paused a moment and continued "But to answer your original question, while it may appear that I fit in with this society, in actuality I can barely tolerate them and their stuck up ways. Dr. Orpheus seems to be the only reasonable one I've ever met, probably because he's so damned strange. I play the part out of a necessity to avoid precisely the same odd stares and hushed whispers at parties about which you were just now lamenting." Blushing slightly, he added "I can only imagine the stares you must get." “Alas, class finds its way into all societies. My own is no exception. But there I belonged; I was one of them, the movement of the political and social ebb and flow were easy to follow. Here I am drowning in faux pas after faux pas. It had come to the point that I almost did not go to that museum the night we all meet. I had become apathetic and withdrawn.” Ting Wu sipped from her cup before continuing. “I supposed I am still as such. But you! You are astounding in your ability to reach out to people, talk them down from their high pedestals and engage them as a person to a person. Truly a talent I am envious of. Even I find myself smiling in your company.” She gave him a friendly laugh. “I do hope you take that as the complement it was meant to be.” "Oh, well, er umm, yes thank you, I will take it that way" Colonel Gentlemen blushed noticeably. Suddenly, as if he became aware of his own apparent awkwardness, he resumed speaking at full tilt. "But you spoke of your homeland, yes? I must say I am quite fascinated by the Orient and her cultures. I've never quite managed to get further east than Delhi myself. What is it like to live there? Is it very much different from here? I would expect that it is. I understand from many of the books I've read on the subject that the land itself is rather beautiful. And the people, well I have to ask, are all the people there as interesting as yourself?" This last question, some what more stilted than the others, caused Colonel Gentlemen to quickly take another sip of tea, simply looking at Ting Wu and awaiting a response. Ting Wu sat quietly for a moment, looking lost in her cup of tea. See took a deep breath before looking Colonel Gentlemen square in the eyes. “The lands of China are beauty realized. Forests of bamboo, paint some places in the majesty of green, so tall and expansive that you can become lost for days in splendor. The lakes that sit nested in the arms of lush valleys, more blue then the sky on a clear summers day. The earth is rich and deep, it smells of life and vitality and runs warm through your fingers should you reach out to it. The air clear and easy to breath, filling your lungs with hope and peace, it caresses your face on wind tousled plains but can also sting from the peaks of mountains covered in ice and glittering snow.” She smiled deep and closed her eyes at the memories. “The land is a wonder.” Her smile slowly faded into sorrow, as she once again opened her eyes. “The people are human.” She sipped from her tea. “Do you know the meaning of worthless? I’m sure you do, though I doubt it is a label that is applied to your self in any measure. Women have their place, Colonel; we are silent, beautiful, and obedient. Some call it filial. Women are subjected to a practice known as “foot binding”; at the age of seven our feet are broken and bound tight with bandages that are sown on. Our toes are bent back under the foot. Many girls die from infection or rot. Their feet never bigger then when they were six years of age. Other then that, women are seen, not heard, we have no opinions besides, what dinners to cook, which supplies to purchase, and how best to please our husbands, which are arranged by our parents. We are known as “worthless branches”.” She sighed before continuing. “Sons have an easier time. They are “Gods gift” without a son, there is no family. They are educated in ways of math, finance, writing, and other scholarly pursuits. They are also arranged into marriage by their parents. In truth, it is much like here with small differences. And to stifle your curiosities, my feet, while small, are not bound.” She shifted the hem of her red silk dress to poke out her small red slippers and slipped one off. A normal foot poked out from the bottom of her hem. She wiggled her toes for good measure. “My own upbringing was vastly different from others. I suppose I am lucky in this regard.” Colonel Gentlemen listened with rapt attention to Ting Wu's description of her land and her people. When finished, he pauses as if for the first time in his life he is unsure of what to say. Eventually he speaks. "Barbarism... Utterly unforgivable and frankly disgusting. I see now why you would flee so far away from your home land. I must say, I have a great deal of respect for what you have done my dear." He places his hand on top of Ting Wu's and pats her gently as if to comfort her. Ting Wu’s eyes swung to the hand placed a top hers, a look of confusion across her face. “No…. that’s not why I left.” She said slowly, as if the words were being strained through cotton. “I…. left… because…..” her words drifted off and she paused. Curiosity still smeared across her face. Shaking her head, she cleared her throat, while pulling her hand into her lap. “I left because my Mother and Father were slaughtered before my eyes when I was 13, a direct order from the Dragon Emperor.” It was stated as a mater of fact, devoid of emotion. “It is getting dark; perhaps we should finish this another time?” It was not clarified if it was the lesson or the statement. Absentmindedly she flexed the hand that had been touched. Colonel Gentlemen remained silent, avoiding eye contact with Ting Wu. Quietly, he muttered an almost inaudible noise, somewhere between a grunt and a word. Ting Wu stared at him for a moment. "My apologies my dear, it is indeed getting rather late." and then gently taking Ting Wu's hand he ushered her towards the manor house.